How Is Conflict Shown in the Atonement by Ian Mcewan

In employing a different ‘’centre of consciousness’’ when telling the story from a narrator’s perspective, the point of view of characters usually shifts to different opinions. Atonement by Ian McEwan, uses this style in his mode of narration to successfully build the story around the narrator, Briony and then shifts to Cecelia’s perspective allowing the responder to consider the ambiguity and reliability of Briony as a narrator. As a post–modern ‘coming of age’ text, we are never given the satisfaction of reaching an absolute truth, but it is through Briony’s version of events that concludes in destruction and confusion. Consequently, we see Briony’s immature responses in her interpretation of the fountain scene, library scene and the rape which result in devastating consequences for the adults concerned.
This use of subjective narrative perspective guides the readers to understand Briony’s romanticized ideas in her interpretation of happens in the fountain scene. As an indirect participant in this scene, her precociousness and naivety sees her interpreting her sister Cecelia’s and Robbie’s meeting as something more. The bedroom window provides a vantage point for her to witness the event as the story becomes more authentic from the narrator’s point of view. Consequently, as Briony is the narrator, her perception becomes the readers’ first impression on the story. Her personal belief on Cecelia’s and Robbie’s body language and gesture gives a wrong interpretation on their relationship. As an imaginative and creative girl, unsophisticated enough to evaluate properly what she sees, Briony witnesses Robbie raising his hand after Cecelia removes her clothes and through her, she thinks that Robbie is a commander controlling Cecelia to obey her orders when she says “what was less comprehensible, however, was how Robbie imperiously raised his hand now, as though issuing a command which Cecelia dared not obey. ’’ The use of adverb, “imperiously” suggests Robbie’s dictatorial and domineering behaviour. In reality, Robbie is surprised and gasps when the vase is broken into pieces. Briony’s misconstrued view is reinforced through ‘’ this was a command on which he tried to confer urgent masculine authority. The effect on Cecelia was to cause her to tighten her grip. ‘’ and ‘’she tightened her hold and twisted her body away from him. He was not so easily shaken off.’’Briony’s true feelings and actual reason in making such an action is concealed by the writer because none of the perceptions given are honest or reliable.
Perceptions on events are highly dependent on subjectivity and often each version on an event from different people may not correlate. We see this in the way Briony interprets and narrates events as if she is playing God. This is portrayed in the library scene, where Briony labels Robbie as a “maniac” after she sees Robbie and Cecelia having sex in the library. Her misinterpretation of the relationship between Cecelia and Robbie creates a bad image of Robbie, describing the scene as being violent and aggressive: ‘’He pushed his body against hers, pushing her dress right up above her knee and had trapped her where the shelves met at right angles. His left hand was behind her neck, gripping her hair, and with his right he held her forearm which was raised in protest, or self-defence.’’ The use of high modality verbs like ‘’gripping’’, ‘’pushing’’ shows Briony’s confusion at the adult behaviour she witnesses and because of her highly imaginative immature nature, her poor perception of Robbie is shaped. In contrast, another version of narrative from Cecelia’s point of view clarifies the story, conveying the idea of how Briony’s put her wrong imagination into a real story. The use of softened and romantic words like ‘’touch’’ and ‘’kiss’’ shows the true relationship of Cecelia and Robbie in ‘’He put his hands on her shoulders, and her bare skin was cool to the touch. Their faces drew closer he was uncertain enough to think she might spring away, or hit him, movie-style, across the cheek with her open hand’’ which shows the true relationship between the adults.
Another example of employing a different ‘’centre of consciousness’’ appears in chapter 13, in Briony’s old and young ’s stage, Briony’s misconceptions come from her youth and precociousness, her heightened view of herself as novelist and observer, a misplaced desire to protect her elder sister and possibly a jealous complex derived from her earlier feelings for Robbie. The use of irony conveys that Briony’s ‘’truth’’ is not the readers, when Briony thinks she knows what Robbie really like, her understanding of him has changed. The narrator tells the reader ‘’…..true was strange and deceptive, it had to be struggled for, against the flow of the everyday’’. Older Briony realises she has a great desire transiting from childhood to adulthood when she was an adolescent, finds herself in situations that she doesn’t fully understand and her immature responses have devastating consequences for the adults directly concerned. Briony arranges her atonement and guilt in the narration to emphasise the naïve point of view in the past. The constant used of word ‘’darkness’’ in “the shadowed walls of the house”, “darkness doubled the impression of speed.”, “she was witnessing some trick of darkness and perspective.” This emphasises the reader’s sense of the slippery nature of the “truth” of the events that will unfold. In response to her childhood, she thinks that what she sees is equal to what she thinks in the fantasy world, combining different pieces into a real life tragedy. Briony’s childlike perspective misunderstands Robbie as a maniac. The repetition of the word ‘’maniac’’ shows Briony’s misinterpretation when she was a child, being excited to have a secret of adult. This is shown in ‘’there was nothing she could not describe: the gentle pad of a maniac’s treads moving sinuously along the drive, keeping to the verge of muffle his approach.’’ and ‘’he was a maniac after all’’. Briony’s desire to step into adult world causes her to construct things in a self-conscious way. The centre of consciousness shifts back to the older Briony, ‘’It was her story, the one that was writing itself around her’’, reveals the truth and confuses the reader on the story, leading them to imagine the atonement in different perspectives.
In the novel Atonement by Ian McEwan, the shifts of point of view explains Briony as a writer plays God and elaborates the atonement in employing different centre of consciousness. In the vase scene and library, the shifts of point of view between Briony and Cecelia carry different stories and thoughts. Briony with a furtive mind misinterprets the relationship with Cecelia and Robbie, sees Robbie as a maniac, in her fantasy world, she is excited to have a secret and step into the adult world. In contrast, the narration from Cecelia’s point of view shows the truth of the story, as an irony on Briony. In the rape event, the shifting point of view between older and younger Briony invents her atonement and a sense of guilty on Robbie. From telling the older Briony’s realisation, she tries to atone for the act she has done. The examples bring the leaders into a situation with different perspectives think how Briony arranges the narration in the view to carrying the atonement.